The Black-faced Spoonbill conference successfully finished at WWF Jockey Club Mai Po Peter Scott Visitor Centre, Mai Po Nature Reserve, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, from 26th to 28th February, 2025
Author: Kenneth Lam and Yat-tung Yu, the Hong Kong Bird Watching Society
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Black-faced Spoonbill (Platalea minor), currently listed as Endangered by the IUCN Red List, has long been a flagship species for international conservation in the East Asia region. Thanks to the coordinated conservation efforts, its population grew from fewer than 300 individuals in late 1980s to 6,988 in 2024. However, mounting habitat pressures, urban expansion, renewable energy infrastructure, avian diseases, and climate change are impacting the long-term survival of this species. The current International Single Species Action Plan (ISSAP), which was formulated in 2010, is outdated and no longer fully addresses these threats to the species.
Recent threats have intensified, necessitating the convening of an international meeting by the EAAFP Black-faced Spoonbill Working Group. As the group has yet to organise such an international meeting since its establishment in 2013, it is imperative that Black-faced Spoonbill conservation leaders take proactive steps to address this urgent need. The meeting will serve as a platform to review the implementation of conservation measures for the species and revise the ISSAP to guide future conservation actions.
The meeting was organised by the EAAFP Black-faced Spoonbill Working Group, with a co-organiser of the Hong Kong Bird Watching Society and was hosted by WWF-Hong Kong. The meeting received support from the Mangrove Foundation, the North-east Asian Subregional Programme for Environmental Cooperation (NEASPEC) and the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department of the Hong Kong SAR. Additionally, the EAAFP 2024 Small Grant Fund for Working Groups and Task Forces of the EAAFP provided financial assistance to the meeting. This international meeting was successfully held at WWF Jockey Club Mai Po Peter Scott Visitor Centre, Mai Po Nature Reserve, Hong Kong, on 26-28 February 2025, including several sessions of meeting and discussion, and a field visit to Mai Po Nature Reserve and Long Valley Nature Park.
This meeting seeks to collaborate with more than 35 experts and key stakeholders from across the species’ range, including Mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan, Korea, Japan, and the Philippines, to assess the conservation outcomes of the current species action plan, evaluate the species’ current status, identify conservation gaps and threats, and develop the new ISSAP framework for coordinated conservation efforts from 2026 to 2036.
The meeting not only laid the groundwork for drafting the new ISSAP but also offered participants a platform to share valuable insights on rejuvenating the membership of the EAAFP Black-faced Spoonbill Working Group. This initiative aims to bolster and foster international collaboration in spoonbill conservation activities, with a particular emphasis on CEPA activities. A key recommendation from the group is the establishment of an International Black-faced Spoonbill Day, proposed to be held annually on the third Saturday of March. This day would be dedicated to organizing events that celebrate Black-faced Spoonbill conservation, coinciding with their migration from wintering sites back to their breeding grounds.
